The Void

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DOUGHBOYS
Posts: 13088
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

The Void

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Fri May 29, 2020 9:02 am

There is a huge void in each of our lives.
Sports was a way of life for us.
I live in the Mountain Time Zone. I still think of 11 AM and 5 PM as the time when games should start.
It still drives me crazy.
Each day during baseball season, my head is filled with the Starting Pitchers for that days games.
The good match-ups for my hitters.
Whether a player is in the lineup or not and updates on injured players.
Then, when the day games start, a rolling tally of those 10 categories go through my mind most of the day, leading up to the evening games.
It's truly an awesome thing.
We can go through our day of work and enjoy our families, while our brain is in FantasyLand.

If you're like me, you've made poor attempts to fill the void.
Cleaning, building, other entertainment, whatever.
But you know what?
Nothing replaces the mind play of our fantasy teams.

I was in a draft the other day (God, I hope that is the last time I EVER say that on May 29) and was deciding in my mind between Keston Hiura and Luis Castillo. I had started out my draft from the 10-spot in drafting Soto and Freeman.
The choice was to maintain the offense or grab a Starter.
While deliberating, I realized that I was hearing Charlie Brown's teacher with another part of my mind.
It was my wife.
"What was that last part?" I asked in hopes of grasping everything she had said.
She repeated and added, "You'd think it was baseball season or something"
Ok, so maybe we don't fool them as we think we do :D

Sunday is just another day now.
Before, it was MY day and the wife and family, God love them, knew it was my day.
All those games starting in the morning.
And as the day goes on, more and more consternation about the FAAB deadline.
I love FAAB. I hate FAAB.
It has always been that way.
It is a key part of our game.
A time enveloping, maniacal, self-budgeting, self-loathing, meat grinder of a required ritual that we put ourselves through every Sunday.
And I miss it.
Don't get me wrong. I love free Sundays. I do.
But while I now wake up on Sundays like Mary Poppins with no cares, I'd much rather wake up on Sundays like George Patton with a mission.
I miss the urgency. I miss the pure relishing of helping a team that is already running well or one desperately in need of re-inforcements.

The Monday and Friday lineups.
The unforeseen injuries (ok, I don't miss them at all)
The surprise two homer, one stolen base game by a player we put in the lineup at the last minute.
Heck, I even miss the NFBC having a major screw-up on FAAB night, an annual ritual that makes me smile now.
I miss it all.
Nothing comes close to filling the void.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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